Did Donald Trump Possibly Commit A Crime?
If President Donald Trump took any classified documents into his personal possession, is so wrong for so many reasons:
What laws may Trump have broken?
A warrant gave prosecutors the right to seize records at Donald Trumps home, offices, etc that contain evidence, in violation of three federal laws:
18 U.S. Code § 793 – Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information.
18 U.S. Code § 2071 – Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
18 U.S. Code § 1519 – Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy
Let’s examine some of the reasons this may have been harmful and thus wrong for the United States of America:
Removing classified documents from approved government spaces allows more easy access by enemy nations to take advantage by possessing and reading information that is not to be seen by anyone not approved.
Have any people in other countries, who have been working for the Central Intelligence Agency, been revealed and thus threatened, tortured or killed as a result of documents taken by Trump?
Did Donald Trump profit by sharing the highly secret documents with enemy nations? If this is found out to be true then this goes way beyond any reason to not prosecute.
The Law:
Espionage Act (including death if the leak resulted in the death of a covert agent)
The Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited obtaining information, recording pictures, or copying descriptions of any information relating to the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information may be used for the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation. This was one reason used to allow federal agents to search former president Donald Trump’s residence in Florida for top secret government documents that may have been taken when he left office.
https://theintercept.com/2022/08/16/trump-espionage-act-classified-documents/
Treason involves betraying one’s nation generally by giving information to a hostile entity. The penalties can vary.
Treason is any intentional act that furthers the enemy’s hostile designs or weakens the United States gives aid and comfort to, and “adheres to,” the enemy. If Donald Trump passed any classified documents a known agent for a foreign government, then Trump is in serious trouble.
Treason Penalty: Under U.S. Code Title 18, the penalty is death, or not less than five years’ imprisonment (with a minimum fine of $10,000, if not sentenced to death). Any person convicted of treason against the United States also forfeits the right to hold public office in the United States.
Capitol Punishment can be imposed for treason.
The penalty for high treason is life imprisonment. The penalty for treason is imprisonment up to a maximum of life, or up to 14 years for conduct under subsection (2)(b) or (e) in peacetime.
No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or on confession in open court.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/did-donald-trump-and-his-supporters-commit-treason
https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/treason.htm
Summary:
It is quite possible that Donald Trump, taking classified documents, was just a colossal stupid act on his part. If this is the case, it still sends a horrible message to United States spies operating in foreign countries not to trust this country to properly keep secrets. Also, this whole discovery and prosecution process has gone on for so long that it has been amplified in the news beyond belief. Any foreign spy working for the United States would have to be living in a cave for months not to know what happened.
If any single person, who was working as a spy for the United States and was killed as a result of documents revealing his or her existence through Donald Trump having a revealing document, then Donald Trump should be labeled a traitor and his life may be terminated.
Posted 9-18-2022
Revised 9-19-2022